“This bill is so enormous it took the
Government Printing Office two days to print it. It spends more than
half a billion dollars a page. It runs just under 2,000 pages. And
it’s got more than a billion dollars in it for the Democrat health
care bill that an ever-growing number of Americans want to repeal,
not fund. This is exactly the kind of thing the American people voted
against in November.”

As an alternative, McConnell introduced
his own 14-line, no frills Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend the
current CR, which expires Saturday, in order to maintain current funding levels another two months until February 18, 2011.

McConnell charged that the Democrats
“want us to ram this gigantic, trillion dollar bill through
Congress – and they’re using the Christmas break as a inducement
to get us to vote for it. This is no way to legislate.” He promised
that “Once the new Congress is sworn in, we’ll have a chance to
pass a less expensive bill free of wasteful spending. . . Americans
don’t want massive, trillion dollar bills rushed through Congress
on our way out the door – they want us to be careful and
responsible with their money.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-NV) voiced a very different view of the Democrats' push to
complete work on a number of bills before breaking for Christmas,
including both the omnibus spending bill and the START nuclear
weapons treaty. Speaking on the Senate floor in response to
complaints from McConnell and other Republicans, Reid blamed
Republicans for the lame duck session's long list of unfinished
business. He said: “Senate Republicans need look no further than
themselves in casting blame for the predicament we are in right now.
In this Congress, Republicans have waged 87 filibusters. They have
used every trick in the book to delay legislation.”

Faced with threats from Sen. Jim DeMint
(R-SC) to force days-long floor readings of pending legislation, Reid
said “These are additional days of wasted time we could be using to
pass legislation and get home for the holidays. Yet some of my
Republican colleagues have the nerve to whine about having to stay
and actually do the work the American people pay us for . . . Most
people don’t get two weeks off yet alone one week off for
Christmas. And those people who are lucky enough to have a job in
these trying times need to work extra hours just to make ends meet.”

Reid concluded that “The path to
finishing this year lies in the hands of Senator Kyl, Senator DeMint
and any other Senate Republican who are trying run out the clock or
run out the door without finishing the American people’s business.”

This week’s guest on Open Mic is Rod Hebrink, President and CEO of Compeer Financial. The lack of certainty from a new farm bill and weak commodity prices due to lost export markets and robust supplies have left farmers and lenders with a grim outlook for 2019. In this interview, Hebrink discusses the challenge of the unknown and the need for legislators and the White House to take action on farm policy, trade and regulations to help rural America prepare for the year ahead.

The world of agriculture extends beyond what’s growing in your field or living in your barn, and here at Agri-Pulse, we understand that. We make it our duty to inform you of the most up-to-date agricultural and rural policy decisions being made in Washington D.C. and examine how they will affect you – the farmer, the lobbyist, the government employee, the educator, the consultant and the concerned citizen.